99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
SB2562

 

Introduced 2/16/2016, by Sen. David Koehler

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
35 ILCS 120/11  from Ch. 120, par. 450

    Amends the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. Provides that the Department of Revenue may furnish certain financial information to municipalities and counties (now, only municipalities) if the municipality or county agrees in writing to the Act's confidentiality provisions. Provides that the Department of Revenue is authorized to provide the information to municipalities or counties by electronic means. Provides that the Department may disclose the standard classification number assigned to a business. Provides that only the chief executive officer or chairman of the municipality or county may enter into an information-sharing agreement with the Department. Requires the chief executive officer or chairman to provide the Department with a list of municipal or county employees who may request return information, view return information, or receive related information. Contains provisions concerning the cancellation of the agreement.


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A BILL FOR

 

SB2562LRB099 17003 HLH 41355 b

1    AN ACT concerning local government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Retailers' Occupation Tax Act is amended by
5changing Section 11 as follows:
 
6    (35 ILCS 120/11)  (from Ch. 120, par. 450)
7    Sec. 11. All information received by the Department from
8returns filed under this Act, or from any investigation
9conducted under this Act, shall be confidential, except for
10official purposes, and any person who divulges any such
11information in any manner, except in accordance with a proper
12judicial order or as otherwise provided by law, shall be guilty
13of a Class B misdemeanor with a fine not to exceed $7,500.
14    Nothing in this Act prevents the Director of Revenue from
15publishing or making available to the public the names and
16addresses of persons filing returns under this Act, or
17reasonable statistics concerning the operation of the tax by
18grouping the contents of returns so the information in any
19individual return is not disclosed.
20    Nothing in this Act prevents the Director of Revenue from
21divulging to the United States Government or the government of
22any other state, or any officer or agency thereof, for
23exclusively official purposes, information received by the

 

 

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1Department in administering this Act, provided that such other
2governmental agency agrees to divulge requested tax
3information to the Department.
4    The Department's furnishing of information derived from a
5taxpayer's return or from an investigation conducted under this
6Act to the surety on a taxpayer's bond that has been furnished
7to the Department under this Act, either to provide notice to
8such surety of its potential liability under the bond or, in
9order to support the Department's demand for payment from such
10surety under the bond, is an official purpose within the
11meaning of this Section.
12    The furnishing upon request of information obtained by the
13Department from returns filed under this Act or investigations
14conducted under this Act to the Illinois Liquor Control
15Commission for official use is deemed to be an official purpose
16within the meaning of this Section.
17    Notice to a surety of potential liability shall not be
18given unless the taxpayer has first been notified, not less
19than 10 days prior thereto, of the Department's intent to so
20notify the surety.
21    The furnishing upon request of the Auditor General, or his
22authorized agents, for official use, of returns filed and
23information related thereto under this Act is deemed to be an
24official purpose within the meaning of this Section.
25    Where an appeal or a protest has been filed on behalf of a
26taxpayer, the furnishing upon request of the attorney for the

 

 

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1taxpayer of returns filed by the taxpayer and information
2related thereto under this Act is deemed to be an official
3purpose within the meaning of this Section.
4    The furnishing of financial information to a municipality
5or county, upon request of the chief executive officer or
6chairman Chief Executive thereof, as appropriate, is an
7official purpose within the meaning of this Section, provided
8the municipality or county agrees in writing to the
9requirements of this Section. Information provided to
10municipalities and counties under this paragraph shall be
11limited to: (1) the business name; (2) the business address;
12(3) the standard classification number assigned to the
13business; (4) net revenue distributed to the requesting
14municipality or county that is directly related to the
15requesting municipality's or county's local share of the
16proceeds under the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, the
17Service Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers' Occupation Tax
18Act distributed from the Local Government Tax Fund, and, if
19applicable, any locally imposed retailers' occupation tax or
20service occupation tax; and (5) (4) a listing of all businesses
21within the requesting municipality or county by account
22identification number and address. On and after July 1, 2015,
23the furnishing of financial information to municipalities or
24counties under this paragraph may be by electronic means.
25    Information so provided shall be subject to all
26confidentiality provisions of this Section. The written

 

 

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1agreement shall provide for reciprocity, limitations on
2access, disclosure, and procedures for requesting information.
3Only the chief executive officer or chairman of the
4municipality or county, as appropriate, may initiate the
5written agreement with the Department. The chief executive
6officer or chairman of the municipality or county, as
7appropriate, shall provide the Department with a list of names
8and official titles of municipal or county employees, as
9appropriate, designated by the him or her as persons
10exclusively authorized to request return information, view
11return information, or receive related information on his or
12her behalf. This list shall be restricted solely to municipal
13or county employees, as appropriate, who are directly involved
14in the financial operations of the municipality or county, and
15the financial information provided by the Department shall not
16be viewed by or shared with anyone who is not approved by the
17Department. The written agreement may be canceled by either the
18Department or the chief executive officer or chairman, as
19appropriate, of the municipality or county at any time and
20shall be canceled in the event of any unauthorized use or
21disclosure of State tax return information obtained pursuant to
22the written agreement, or in the event of a failure to abide by
23the procedures set forth in the agreement by the Department for
24safeguarding the confidentiality of such return information.
25    The Department may make available to the Board of Trustees
26of any Metro East Mass Transit District information contained

 

 

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1on transaction reporting returns required to be filed under
2Section 3 of this Act that report sales made within the
3boundary of the taxing authority of that Metro East Mass
4Transit District, as provided in Section 5.01 of the Local Mass
5Transit District Act. The disclosure shall be made pursuant to
6a written agreement between the Department and the Board of
7Trustees of a Metro East Mass Transit District, which is an
8official purpose within the meaning of this Section. The
9written agreement between the Department and the Board of
10Trustees of a Metro East Mass Transit District shall provide
11for reciprocity, limitations on access, disclosure, and
12procedures for requesting information. Information so provided
13shall be subject to all confidentiality provisions of this
14Section.
15    The Director may make available to any State agency,
16including the Illinois Supreme Court, which licenses persons to
17engage in any occupation, information that a person licensed by
18such agency has failed to file returns under this Act or pay
19the tax, penalty and interest shown therein, or has failed to
20pay any final assessment of tax, penalty or interest due under
21this Act. The Director may make available to any State agency,
22including the Illinois Supreme Court, information regarding
23whether a bidder, contractor, or an affiliate of a bidder or
24contractor has failed to collect and remit Illinois Use tax on
25sales into Illinois, or any tax under this Act or pay the tax,
26penalty, and interest shown therein, or has failed to pay any

 

 

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1final assessment of tax, penalty, or interest due under this
2Act, for the limited purpose of enforcing bidder and contractor
3certifications. The Director may make available to units of
4local government and school districts that require bidder and
5contractor certifications, as set forth in Sections 50-11 and
650-12 of the Illinois Procurement Code, information regarding
7whether a bidder, contractor, or an affiliate of a bidder or
8contractor has failed to collect and remit Illinois Use tax on
9sales into Illinois, file returns under this Act, or pay the
10tax, penalty, and interest shown therein, or has failed to pay
11any final assessment of tax, penalty, or interest due under
12this Act, for the limited purpose of enforcing bidder and
13contractor certifications. For purposes of this Section, the
14term "affiliate" means any entity that (1) directly,
15indirectly, or constructively controls another entity, (2) is
16directly, indirectly, or constructively controlled by another
17entity, or (3) is subject to the control of a common entity.
18For purposes of this Section, an entity controls another entity
19if it owns, directly or individually, more than 10% of the
20voting securities of that entity. As used in this Section, the
21term "voting security" means a security that (1) confers upon
22the holder the right to vote for the election of members of the
23board of directors or similar governing body of the business or
24(2) is convertible into, or entitles the holder to receive upon
25its exercise, a security that confers such a right to vote. A
26general partnership interest is a voting security.

 

 

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1    The Director may make available to any State agency,
2including the Illinois Supreme Court, units of local
3government, and school districts, information regarding
4whether a bidder or contractor is an affiliate of a person who
5is not collecting and remitting Illinois Use taxes for the
6limited purpose of enforcing bidder and contractor
7certifications.
8    The Director may also make available to the Secretary of
9State information that a limited liability company, which has
10filed articles of organization with the Secretary of State, or
11corporation which has been issued a certificate of
12incorporation by the Secretary of State has failed to file
13returns under this Act or pay the tax, penalty and interest
14shown therein, or has failed to pay any final assessment of
15tax, penalty or interest due under this Act. An assessment is
16final when all proceedings in court for review of such
17assessment have terminated or the time for the taking thereof
18has expired without such proceedings being instituted.
19    The Director shall make available for public inspection in
20the Department's principal office and for publication, at cost,
21administrative decisions issued on or after January 1, 1995.
22These decisions are to be made available in a manner so that
23the following taxpayer information is not disclosed:
24        (1) The names, addresses, and identification numbers
25    of the taxpayer, related entities, and employees.
26        (2) At the sole discretion of the Director, trade

 

 

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1    secrets or other confidential information identified as
2    such by the taxpayer, no later than 30 days after receipt
3    of an administrative decision, by such means as the
4    Department shall provide by rule.
5    The Director shall determine the appropriate extent of the
6deletions allowed in paragraph (2). In the event the taxpayer
7does not submit deletions, the Director shall make only the
8deletions specified in paragraph (1).
9    The Director shall make available for public inspection and
10publication an administrative decision within 180 days after
11the issuance of the administrative decision. The term
12"administrative decision" has the same meaning as defined in
13Section 3-101 of Article III of the Code of Civil Procedure.
14Costs collected under this Section shall be paid into the Tax
15Compliance and Administration Fund.
16    Nothing contained in this Act shall prevent the Director
17from divulging information to any person pursuant to a request
18or authorization made by the taxpayer or by an authorized
19representative of the taxpayer.
20(Source: P.A. 98-1058, eff. 1-1-15.)